Overview

Overview

An examination of both the role played by Fortune in Arthurian literature and legend, and the fortunes of the legend itself.

The essays in this volume offer a general overview and a number of detailed examinations of Arthur's fortunes, in two senses. First is the role of Fortune itself, often personified and consistently instrumental, in accounts of Arthur's court and reign. More generally the articles trace the trajectory of the Arthurian legend - its birth, rise and decline - through the middle ages. The final essay follows the continued turning of Fortune's wheel, emphasizing the modern revival and flourishing of the legend. The authors, all distinguished Arthurian scholars, illustrate their arguments through studies of early Latin and Welsh sources, chronicles, romances (in English, French, German, Italian, Latin and Welsh), manuscript illustration and modern literary texts.

Table of Contents

Arthur and Kingship in the Historia Brittonum - Christopher A. Snyder`For Mortals are Moved by these Conditions': Fate, Fortune and Providence in Geoffrey of Monmouth - Sian EchardVisions of History: Robert de Boron and English Arthurian Chroniclers - Edward Donald KennedyBruttene Deorling: An Arthur for Every Age - King Arthur: From History to Fiction - Dennis H GreenWelsh Tradition in Calais: Elis Gruffydd and his Biography of King Arthur - Ceridwen Lloyd-MorganThe Ambiguous Fortunes of Arthur: The Lancelot-Grail and Beyond - Norris J LacyChanging the Equation: The Impact of Tristan-Love on Arthur's Court in the Prose Tristan and La Tavola Ritonda - Joan Tasker GrimbertIllustration and the Fortunes of Arthur - Alison StonesThe Fortunes of Arthur in the Later German Romances - Neil E. ThomasThe Knight and the Parrot: Writing the Quest at the End of the Middle Ages - Jane H. M. TaylorReconsidering Malory - Caroline Eckhardt`The Old Order Changeth': King Arthur in the Modern World - Alan Lupack

Reviews

Enlarges the champ de travail of matters Arthurian for French specialists and is an excellent addition to the Arthurian Studies series. THE FRENCH REVIEWA varied collection, but one which responds to the dual perspective of the volume's title, and which yields many rewarding insights. FRENCH STUDIESThe contributors are major scholars who write well and whose essays offer significant contributions. ARTHURIANA